Elderly Man Accused of Pointing Fingers Like a Gun at Bank Employees Sues over His Arrest

An elderly man who was arrested based on allegations he pointed his fingers like a gun and threatened bank employees has filed a lawsuit against the institution.

Wolfgang Eichert of West Milford, N.J., claims in the suit that employees of Valley National Bank in Butler made false and malicious statements to police about the incident, report the Daily Record and NJ.com.

Eichert was 82 when he was arrested the day after the July 2011 incident and accused of making terroristic threats. The charge was downgraded to harassment and then dropped, the Daily Record says.

Eichert’s lawyer, Brian Donnelly, told NJ.com that his client never pointed his fingers like a gun and didn’t threaten to shoot everybody. Even if he did, Donnelly said, “he’s an 82-year-old man. It’s clear that there was no threat ever made by him.”

Donnelly acknowledged Eichert was upset at the bank because his ex-wife’s name was still on his account.